311 - From Chaos

From Chaos marks the first album from the rap-rock-reggae-metal band on Volcano Records, their sixth studio album to date. The album’s single, ‘You Wouldn’t Believe’, is probably the most appealing song on the disc on first listen. Furthermore, "Champagne", "Amber", and "I’ll Be Here Awhile" stand out from the standard 311 riff-rap songs. However, the album isn’t going to win them any new fans. To be honest, I had to listen to this album about 10 times before I started to get into it. I love it now. 311 are probably one of my favorite bands and I will always love them no matter what critics say, no question. On the other hand, I think that after the masterpiece that was Soundsystem in 1999, I needed something more than From Chaos to get me excited about 311 again. If you are a fan like me, do go out and buy the album right away. Eventually you will learn the lyrics and grasp the beauty of 311 in every song, but it won’t happen right away. The one thing that makes 311 stand out from the other rap-rock bands out there is that they have been making music like this for ten years. This album is another dose of the same kind of music. It seems that this decade will be about pushing boundaries and making “new” music, but 311 have stayed true to themselves. That might make this album seem trite and stale compared to other 311 albums, so I’ll give it 3.0 manstyle points. But before I go I have to say, “fuck the bullshit, it’s time to throw down!” [www.311music.com]